More intensive summer tropical cyclone near 30°N of East Asia

The present study revealed that a climate regime shift occurred during the 1988-1991 period involving changes in tropical cyclone (TC) intensity (central pressure, maximum sustained wind speed) during the summer near 30 degrees N in East Asia. Climatologically, TC intensity at 110 degrees-125 degrees E near 30 degrees N (over Mainland China) is the weakest at that latitude while the strongest is found at 125-130 degrees E (over Korea). The TC intensity during the 1991-2015 (91-15) period had strengthened significantly compared to that of the 1965-1988 (65-88) period. The strengthening was due to a significantly lower frequency of TCs that passed through Mainland China during the 91-15 period. This lower frequency of was due to anomalous northeasterlies blown from the anomalous anticyclonic circulation located over continental East Asia and that had strengthened along the coast. Instead, TCs mainly followed a path from eastern regions in the subtropical western North Pacific to Korea and Japan via the East China Sea due to anomalous cyclonic circulations that had strengthened in the western North Pacific. In addition, low vertical wind shear had formed along the mid-latitude region in East Asia and along the main TC track in the 91-15 period, and most regions in the western North Pacific experienced a higher sea surface temperature state during the 91-15 period than in the previous period, indicating that a favorable environment had formed to maintain strong intensities of TCs at the mid-latitudes. The characteristics of TCs at the lower latitudes caused a strong TC intensity at the time of landfall in Korea and a gradual shifting trend of landing location from the western to southern coast in recent years. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.